Bass head tension (beater side)

hvymtlmike

Senior Member
Ive got an aquarian Superkick 2 bass head with a Remo ported head on the front. My question is how much tension is too much? I've been flirting with the idea of tightening up the beater side to help double bass performance maybe give more rebound i guess, but will this ruin the sound? Right now I have it tightened to the point where you can still push it in a decent amount with a finger (no tension meter). What's a good ruler of thumb to get the tightest or most effective tension for performance while not sacrificicing the sound? Hope this makes sense and gives somewhat of a good picture.
 
There are no rules, just tension to where it sounds and feels good to you.

It doesn't matter if all the lugs are exactly even either, as long as it sounds good, and works for you.

Good luck!
 
My question is how much tension is too much?

Trust me, you'll know when you've got it too tight. It'll make a sad little "Boing!" sound that's just not bass-ey. I like to tune my bass drum up a bit, especially by rock standards. I find that it. just carries more.

Go for it, try tuning your drums up high and down low, just make sure you tension evenly as to not crack/warp your hoops.
 
My bass drum's batter head is usually tighter than the resonant head and Yes, the tension rods are adjusted to make sure that the heads are in-tune with themselves, just like any other drum on my kits. This is most important if you like a nice tone without too many harmonics emanating from your bass drum.

Dennis
 
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